WODL
  
   Newsletter April 2018

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Theatre Ontario Festival 2018  Theatre Ontario hotel booking

Theatre Ontario Festival single tickets  Theatre Ontario Festival package tickets
 

Congratulations to Elmira Theatre Company

AND THE WINNER IS...

Elmira Theare Company will be representing WODL at the Theatre Ontario Festival in London in May with their production of On a First Name Basis.

Sharon Grose Photography
Photo: Sharon Grose Photography
WODL Festival 2018 - In-Festival Awards

For a printable list of awards  click here.

THE ANNE WILSON AWARD
 
Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
The Gift of Theatre Woodstock
 
Nominations:
  • Sarah Jane Burton as Jessie, Gloria's Guy, Guelph Little Theatre
  • Julie Tripp as Leslie in Gloria's Guy, Guelph Little Theatre
  • Barbara Warnock for varied roles, The Dining Room, Aylmer Community Theatre 
Awarded to Sarah Jane Burton, Gloria's Guy, Guelph Little Theatre, for her warm and wise portrayal of a woman who continues to teach and guide well beyond the classroom.
 
 
THE PLAYERS GUILD AWARD
 
Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
The Gift of The Players Guild of Hamilton
 
Nominations:  
  • Peter Leack for varied roles, The Dining Room, Aylmer Community Theatre
  • Rob Pooler as Juror #5, Twelve Angry Men, Paris Performers Theatre
  • Alex Riker as Juror #7, Twelve Angry Men, Paris Performers Theatre 
Awarded to Peter Leack, The Dining Room, Aylmer Community Theatre , for his ability to support his fellow cast through his diverse portrayals of characters ages 8 to 80.
 
 
THE GARY CHAPMAN MEMORIAL AWARD
 
Best Co-ordinated Production (selected by Host Group Stage Manager)
The gift of Guelph Little Theatre
 
Awarded to Twelve Angry Men, Paris Performers Theatre
 
 
THE SPANIK AWARD
 
Best Visual Production
The Gift of John and Michelle Spanik
 
Nominations:  
  • Gloria's Guy, Guelph Little Theatre
  • Venus in Fur, Kitchener-Waterloo Little Theatre
  • On A First Name Basis, Elmira Theatre Company
Awarded to Venus In Fur, Kitchener-Waterloo Little Theatre , for a production which visually resonated on all levels with the script and thematic material enriching the actors' world and the audience's understanding and enjoyment of the play .
 
 
THE HAROLD P. SELLERS MEMORIAL AWARD
 
Outstanding Technical Achievement
The Gift of Theatre Burlington
 
Nominations:  
  • Gloria's Guy, Guelph Little Theatre
  • Venus in Fur, Kitchener-Waterloo Little Theatr,e
  • Twelve Angry Men, Paris Performers Theatre 
Awarded to Venus In Fur, Kitchener-Waterloo Little Theatre , for making considered and well executed technical choices and effects that completed the world of the play and the experience of the audience.
 
 
THE BONANNO AWARD
 
Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Major Role
The Gift of Lawrence and Fay Bonanno
 
Nominations:  
  • Erin Corstorphine as Gloria in Gloria's Guy, Guelph Little Theatre
  • Selina Russell as Vanda, Venus in Fur, Kitchener-Waterloo Little Theatre
  • Deb Deckert as Miss Hopperstaad, On A First Name Basis, Elmira Theatre Company
Awarded to Deb Deckert as Lucy Hopperstaad, On A First Name Basis, Elmira Theatre Company , for her sensitive and well-crafted portrayal of a woman bound by love, close daily proximity and $97,000 a year.
 
 
THE TERRY DOYLE MEMORIAL AWARD
 
Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Major Role
The Gift of Joyce Doyle
 
Nominations:  
  • Scott Andrews as Guy, Gloria's Guy, Guelph Little Theatre
  • John Settle as Thomas, Venus in Fur, Kitchener-Waterloo Little Theatre
  • Gord Cameron as David Kilbride, On A First Name Basis, Elmira Theatre Company 
Awarded to John Settle as Thomas, Venus in Fur, Kitchener-Waterloo Little Theatre . for committing to and delivering a brave performance of a man taken out of his comfort zone and into an uncharted world by an immortal.
 
 
THE PAT & VINCENT MATHEWSON MEMORIAL AWARD
 
Outstanding Ensemble Work
The Gift of Lyn Mathewson
 
Nominations:  
  • The cast of Gloria's Guy, Guelph Little Theatre
  • The cast of The Dining Room, Aylmer Community Theatre
  • The cast of 12 Angry Men, Paris Performers Theatre
Awarded to cast of Twelve Angry Men, Paris Performers Theatre , for their cohesive and consistent engagement to the task at hand as actors and as jurors.
 
 
SPECIAL ADJUDICATOR AWARDS
 
Award of Merit #1:
The Gift of John and Rosemary Tait
 
Awarded to Selina Russell, Vanda, Venus in Fur, Kitchener Waterloo Little Theatre , for tackling a difficult role with the commitment, confidence and determination worthy of a goddess.
 
 
Award of Merit #2:
The Gift of John and Rosemary Tait
 
Awarded to John Bardwell and Colleen Murphy, lighting and props, The Dining Room, Aylmer Community Theatre , for the presentation of a magical closing image that captured the importance of a room valued not for its real estate but for being the emotional centre and anchor of a home and a social class.
 
 
Award of Merit #3:
The Gift of Rob Coles and Mona Brennan-Coles
 
Awarded to Lauren Tiersma as Aunt Harriet, The Dining Room, Aylmer Community Theatre , for encapsulating and defending both the joy and measure of worth found in material objects that defined a social class and culture.
 
 
Award of Merit #4:
The Gift of Rob Coles and Mona Brennan-Coles
 
Awarded to Scott Andrews as Guy, Gloria's Guy, Guelph Little Theatre , for energetic entrances, ability to create lasting visual images and well used physicality at every opportunity.
 
 
Award of Merit #5:
The Gift of Tim Dawdy
 
Awarded to Set Design, Construction, Painting & Dressing team, On A First Name Basis, Elmira Theatre Company , for the creation of a space that provided the warmth and security necessary for two people to become friends for an evening.
 
 
Award of Merit #5:
The Gift of Tim Dawdy
 
Awarded to Lyn McNeilly, Twelve Angry Men, Paris Performers Theatre , for capturing an era, the cross section of a socio-economic culture, and the individual identities of 12 disparate men through costume details and accessories.
 
 
THE VISIONARY AWARD
 
Outstanding Direction
The Gift of Gina and Andre Paradis
 
Nominations:  
  • Ryan Bassett, Venus in Fur, Kitchener-Waterloo Little Theatre
  • Rita Huschka, On A First Name Basis, Elmira Theatre Company
  • Matthew Willson, Twelve Angry Men, Paris Performers Theatre
Awarded to Rita Huschka, On A First Name Basis, Elmira Theatre Company, for inspiring an atmosphere and a production that is the result of careful, intentional choices to best serve the play, the artists and the truth.
 
 
THE D. PARK JAMIESON MEMORIAL AWARD
 
Best Production in Festival
The Gift of Theatre Sarnia
 
Nominations:  
  • Venus in Fur, Kitchener-Waterloo Little Theatre
  • On a First Name Basis, Elmira Theatre Company
  • Twelve Angry Men, Paris Performers Theatre
Awarded to On A First Name Basis, Elmira Theatre Company , for a production of many collaborative threads woven cohesively together with mindfulness, care and underlying passion.
 
 
W.O.D.L. REGIONAL TROPHY
 
Presented by WODL to the Winner of the Best Production
(Presented annually and kept by the winning group for one year)
 
Awarded to On A First Name Basis, Elmira Theatre Company
Theatre Ontario Festival 2018 - London - May 16 to May 20 2018

By Anne Mooney, Chair Theatre Ontario Festival 2018, [email protected]
The annual Theatre Ontario Festival is:

a  showcase  of outstanding community theatre productions
 
a  symposium for passionate, dedicated community theatre artists
 
a  celebration of excellence in community theatre

  a  destination  bringing together theatre lovers from across the province

This year the Festival is hosted by:


London
Community
Players

Western
Ontario Drama
League

Theatre
Ontario

In beautiful old east London at:

The Palace Theatre, 710 Dundas Street, London, Ontario, N5W 2Z4  directions

May 16 - 20, 2018
Buy Tickets:
 
You can buy your tickets online at the Palace Theatre website at 

For individual tickets scroll down to  Theatre Ontario Festival 2018.
To buy all four shows scroll down to  Theatre Ontario Festival 2018 Package.

Theatre Ontario Festival Awards Brunch tickets are only available by telephone--not online--so you may find it more convenient to order all your tickets by telephone. The Box Office is open 11:00 am to 7:00 pm Tuesday to Friday. The telephone number is 519-432-1029.

Ticket order form
Book the Hotel--Four Points by Sheraton

 At 1150 Wellington Road South, N6E 1M3  Directions


Advantages of the Festival hotel:
  • Easy access from major highways
     
  • Parking
    • Lots of free parking
    • Can easily accommodate trucks for the competing groups
       
  • Shopping and restaurants nearby - many within walking distance
     
  • Rooms
    • 1 King Bed or 2 Queen Beds
    • $115 per night includes breakfast (full breakfast buffet) for one person
    • Each additional person to a maximum of 4 people in a room pay an additional $10 for breakfast i.e.
      • 2 person: $125
      • 3 person: $135
      • 4 person: $145

We are proud to announce our Honourary Festival Chair, Alan Stratton:
Allan Stratton's  Nurse Jane Goes to Hawaii , one of the most produced plays in Canadian history, is now in its third year in Polish translation at Warsaw's Teatr Capitol. Other plays, including  Rexy! ,  Papers , and  Bag Babies , have won the Canadian Authors Association Award, the Dora Mavor Moore Award, the Chalmers Award, and a nomination for the Governor General's Award.

His novels, published in over twenty countries, have won and/or been nominated for major awards in Canada, the US, the UK, France and the Netherlands. Chanda's Secrets (2004) was turned into the Cannes award-winning film Life, Above All.

Allan has adjudicated for the WODL, EODL, ACT-CO, and Theatre Ontario, finals. He's been a speaker fort the American Library Association, the Canadian Library Association, International Readers Association, the African Studies Association, Book Expo, and at literary festivals in Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland, Canada, the United States and Vietnam.

Allan is eternally grateful to his mentors: his mom and Londoners James Reaney, Art Fidler and Lorraine McClelland. A former head of drama at the Etobicoke School of the Arts, he lives in Toronto with his husband and three cats. For more information, please visit him at:  www.allanstratton.com.

Workshop Leader - Dan Ebbs
Photo Richard Gilmore
Photo by Richard Gilmore
Dan Ebbs has been experimenting with theatre for over 40 years. Studying at Humber College prepared him for 5 years of underemployment in the Toronto theatre community in the '80s.

So he tried education: Southwestern Ontario, South Korea, the Czech Republic, and Banff.

His latest incarnation is fulfilling various contracts for the London Arts Council (teaching, mime/clown, historical tours), teaching writing for Spectrum, or writing and performing one-person shows (usually funded by the LAC).

He's also delving into local history with the Crazy Beautiful People team, creating a multi-disciplined history project about the Home County Music and Arts Festival, deadline: 50th anniversary in 2023.

His dream: to destroy the 4th wall, to make the audience as integral to the action as the actors.




Movement/Voice Workshop:

The 1st hour will focus on body dynamic: utilizing your strengths and finding the character instinctively. Learn to develop a personalized warm-up to address your individual blocks. We'll also tackle some mime.

The 2nd hour will be for voice, defying the idea that actors need body mics. Starting with an insomnia-killing relaxation exercise (wear comfy clothing and bring something soft to lie on), we will learn to achieve stress-free volume via natural body resonance. Then on to enunciation exercises to banish the mumbles.

The body and voice go together. This seems a logical conclusion, but actors need to learn that 'feeling at home in their instrument' is as essential as learning their lines.
 
Adjudicator - Maja Ardal:
Maja has been working in theatre for forty-seven years. She is a director, playwright, actor, and theatre trainer.

Her musical play,  The Hero of Hunter Street , was produced by 4th Line Theatre in 2016.

She researched and created  One Thing Leads to Another ,  Theatre for Babies , produced by Young People's Theatre, receiving two Dora Awards in 2015. It will tour Ontario in 2018, and she is developing the sequel,  You and I .

Schedule:

Wednesday May 16

8:00 pm
Palace Theatre - WODL entry - On a First Name Basis by Norm Foster presented by Elmira Theatre Company.

Followed by public adjudication.

Followed by reception in the lobby.

Late night Celebration at the Festival Hotel - Four Points Sheraton.
Thursday May 17
10:00 am
 Detailed adjudication by Maya Ardal at the Four Points Sheraton.
1:30 pm to 3:30 pm Workshop by Dan Ebbs - Voice and Movement - at the Four Points Sheraton.
8:00 pm
Palace Theatre - ACT-CO entry - TBA.

Followed by public adjudication.

Followed by reception in the lobby.

Late night
 Celebration at the Festival Hotel - Four Points Sheraton.
Friday May 18
10:00 am Detailed adjudication by Maya Ardal at the Four Points Sheraton.
1:30 pm to 3:30 pm
Playwright in Person TBA at the Four Points Sheraton.

8:00 pm Palace Theatre - QUONTA entry - Tempting Providence by Robert Chafe presented by Elliot Lake Amateur Theatre Ensemble.

Followed by public adjudication.

Followed by reception in the lobby.

Late night
 Celebration at the Festival Hotel - Four Points Sheraton.
Saturday May 19
10:00 am Detailed adjudication by Maya Ardal at the Four Points Sheraton.
11:30 am (approximately) Theatre Ontario Annual General Meeting.
8:00 pm
Palace Theatre - EODL entry - TBA.

Followed by public adjudication.

Followed by reception in the lobby.

Late night
 Celebration at the Festival Hotel - Four Points Sheraton.
Sunday May 20
9:30 am (note different time from other days) Celebration at the Festival Hotel - Four Points Sheraton.
11: 30 am Doors open foe Awards Brunch.
12:00 noon Lunch served.

Followed by awards presentation.


Theatre Ontario AGM - Saturday May 19 at 11:30 am

Please join the members of Theatre Ontario at the Annual General Meeting to be held immediately after the Saturday adjudication.

For more information - click here. 
An Adjudications Chair's Joy

By Ken Menzies, WODL Adjudications Chair,  [email protected]
As adjudication chair, one of my responsibilities is to recommend pre-Festival (travelling) and Festival adjudicators to the Western Ontario Drama League Board. To recommend the best possible ones, I attend adjudications by many different adjudicators. Watching potential adjudicators is a joy.

Theatre Ontario runs a training course for adjudicators once every several years. After completing this, Theatre Ontario arranges for trial adjudications. At these, experienced adjudicators watch people adjudicate and provide feedback. If they give a good adjudication in the experts view, they are accepted into the Theatre Ontario adjudicators' talent bank. I have an opportunity to watch. Sometimes I hear through the grapevine that somebody is a good adjudicator. I then get in touch with the person and inquire if he or she potentially is interested in being the WODL pre-Festival or Festival adjudicator. If he or she is, then I arrange to watch the person adjudicate. Usually this is an adjudication already scheduled for another Theatre Ontario region or for a SEARS (High School) Drama Festival. Many people when I first watch them are inexperienced and nervous. They are reluctant to give negative feedback. However many in the cast and crew want constructive criticism. They get enough of "I cannot believe you could learn so many lines?" from their friends. If I hear that an adjudicator has progressed on his or her learning curve, then I may watch again.

In the nineteen century, when some Protestant churches lost their minister, they would ask several candidates to "preach for a calling". The candidates would give a sermon and the church board would listen. The person who gave the sermon which resonated best earned a calling as the church's new minister. I am like the church board: listening to learn who would best please the Western Ontario Drama League's members.

The criteria which I use include:

1. Does the person cover all aspects of the production? If several people have spent weeks sewing costumes, and costumes are simply described as good, then several people have not learned much from the adjudication. The same applies to lights and set. However having attended several adjudications with friends who are experienced adjudicators, I have learned that sometimes there is little that can be said. My hunches rule.

2. The feedback from cast and crew. I ask several people being adjudicated how much they learned from the adjudication. If I am lucky, I know somebody in the cast or tech staff. Not everybody reacts as I do. I try to pay attention.

3. The person's social skills. I often sit where I can watch the cast and crew as opposed to the adjudicator. What matters is their reaction. Does the potential adjudicator recognize who is learning and who closes down? In my day job as a sociology professor before I retired I learned the rule: provide three favourable specific comments ("You were great." Is too vague) before introducing what needs improvement. I watch to learn if the potential adjudicator wins people over enough for them to absorb negative feedback.

4. There are many ways of having a good adjudication. What matters is that by the end of the adjudication the cast and crew understand the strengths and weaknesses of their production and many people have a good idea of what they need to work on to improve. In other words "Has constructive criticism been given and heard?"

Many potential adjudicators start by saying "Adjudications are dialogues". My questions are "Does this choice work for the person?" and "Does the potential adjudicator commit to this choice?" I am concerned about how does the person tries to make it happen?" For instance does the person ask whether a decision was the actor's, the lighting designer's or the director's? Some people encourage dialogue by asking specific questions about character and what the actor was trying to achieve. Asking at the end: "Does anybody have any questions?" is not fostering dialogue.

5. Has the adjudicator done his or her homework? The internet is a great research resource. A good adjudicator provides the audience with some background on a play for the first five minutes of a public adjudication and then ties this to the production just seen in the next five minutes. In the detailed adjudication the question is: "Does the person know their way around the script?"

6. Does the person ramble? Is there enough meat on the bone?

7. For potential traveling adjudicators, I want to see ambiguity created about the quality of the production. What were the production's strengths: the reasons why it might be selected for going on to Festival? What would take the production up level: What are the reasons a production might not be selected for Festival? Ten line notes are not a reason for a production not to make it to Festival. An overview of the production is required. Two weeks later on a walk, I often have an overview of a play. Good adjudicators have an overview when the play ends.

8. Finally, "Did I learn something?" Most of the cast and crew are theatrically sophisticated. If I do not learn something interesting, then they probably have not either.

Thank you to the theatre groups who have hosted me: You have made possible one of the most fascinating parts of being the WODL adjudication chair.
News from Around the WODL Region
By Janice Lundy, member WODL Communications Committee, [email protected] 
Spring is sprung and our theatres are getting busy again now that they've recovered from the festival! There's lots of shows to choose from in April:
5-14 Owen Sound Little Theatre The Ghost Island Light
6-14 Theatre Woodstock Hilda's Yard
6-15 Peninsula Players The Ghost in the Meadow
6-21 Guelph Little Theatre The Ghost Island Light

14 Ghost Light Players Spring Social, Auction and Bites

12-21 London Community Players Albertine in Five Times
12-22 Simcoe Little Theatre Cabaret April 12, 2018 and April 22, 2018
12-28 Kitchener Waterloo Little Theatre Merchant of Venice
13-21 Theatre Sarnia Exit Laughing
13-27 Theatre Burlington Hilda's Yard
13-28 Cambridge Community Players Skin Flick

20-29 ITOPA Jitters
 
April 26-May 6 Elgin Theatre Guild Nana's Naughty Knickers
April 26- May 6  St Marys Community Players All My Sons
April 27- May 6 Hanover Community Players Wizard of Oz
April 27- May 12 Elmira Theatre Company Twelve Angry Men

Please let me know if your group has something special coming up!
Theatre Ontario - Training

By Brandon Moore, Community Theatre and Communications Manager at Theatre Ontario, [email protected]
The Summer Theatre Intensive for 2018 has been announced

For 2018, we are offering the following courses:

WEEK ONE (August 5-10th)
Learning to Love Your Monologue with Peggy Coffey
Directing - From First Reading to Opening Night with Diana Leblanc
Stage Combat with Daniel Levinson
Teaching Drama to Children & Youth - Building Your Toolkit with Andrew Lamb

WEEK TWO (August 12-17th)
Hot Scenes - Building your Acting Technique with Brenda Kamino
The Right Direction with John P. Kelly
Voice Bootcamp with Elley-Ray Hennessy
Creation Lab with Donna-Michelle St. Bernard

For more information  click here


Picture Perfect: Your Photos as Promotional Tools - May 7, 2018

In this live webinar learn how to best present your theatrical performance.  Whether you are producing on a dime or on a bankroll, know how to make qualified choices in selecting the images to inspire your audience. Led by Dahlia Katz, a prolific and established theatre photographer, this webinar will give you the knowledge on what makes dynamic and captivating stills for your promotional package.  Even on a small budget the right photographs by the right photographer can be the difference between opening to a captive audience or an empty house.

For more information click here.
Playwrights Guild of Canada - Canadian Play Outlet

The Canadian Play Outlet has launched it's new site with over 2000 Canadian Plays right at your fingertips. Looking for something specific? Check out the curated Collections.

Every month you can take a look at the newest unpublished and published plays available!
WODL now on Twitter

WODL now has a Twitter account, @WODLtheatre.

If you do not have a twitter account, you can view the WODL tweets by clicking the Twitter button on the main page of the WODL website, or by clicking here.
If you are Producing Canadian Plays this Season - Check This Out
The Playwrights Guild of Canada publicises productions of Canadian-written plays through its website, www.playwrightsguild.ca.

PGC also publishes a list of theatre companies that have an all-Canadian season. Click here to obtain a nomination form for this list.

If you want to perform a Canadian play but cannot figure out where to obtain the amateur performance rights, view this presentation from PGC.
ONstage Theatre Listings
Theatre Ontario publishes an online list of current and upcoming productions by its member groups. To see what is on  click here.
Is your WODL Membership Information Up-to-date?
Are you on the board of a theatre group that belongs to WODL? If your group has:
  • A new President
  • New WODL delegates
  • A new Treasurer
Please let our membership chair, Sue Perkins, know at  [email protected]
Dates for your Diary

16  to 20 May 2018 Theatre Ontario Festival 2018, London
22 July 2018 WODL AGM
This newsletter was prepared by:  

Tricia Ward
Communications Coordinator
WODL

Western Ontario Drama League | [email protected] | http://www.wodl.on.ca

Copyright © Western Ontario Drama League 2017. All Rights Reserved.